Ravnica Allegiance is live. What does that mean for you?

The beta continues, though truth be told the game itself is as solid and fun as any released title that we have played. There are of course, new cards, new guilds and likely a change in the meta. That goes without saying and is what makes TCG expansions so exciting.  It's a bit like a new game with the old flavour that we enjoy. 

Ravnica Allegiance adds 273 new cards to MTG Arena and introduces five guilds on top of the five that came with Guilds of Ravnica: Azorius, Simic, Gruul, Rakdos, and Orzhov. Each new guild comes with a new keyword ability to the game, and with Ravnica Allegiance, all ten Ravnica guilds are now in-game (you can even hear each of their guild theme songs when you play their cards on the Ravnica battlefield). For those of you looking for ways to collect and play with these new cards, we'll have Ravnica Allegiance Sealed available on January 17, and on January 18, our Traditional Draft event will switch to Ravnica Allegiance. We'll also be holding a special Ravnica Constructed event on January 25, which will let you build and play with decks that only feature cards from Guilds of Ravnica and Ravnica Allegiance. Just after the kick-off Preseason 2, Ravnica Allegiance will be coming to Ranked Draft on February 1.

Duplicate Protection

Here is how it works in practice.  

Booster Packs (from the Store, Weekly Wins, etc.)

  • If you open a rare or mythic rare card that you don't have four copies of, you receive the card. Easy enough.
  • If you would open a rare or mythic rare card that you already have four copies of, the system will automatically replace it with a different card of the same rarity from that set.
  • If you've collected all the rares and/or mythic rares in the set, the card will be replaced with Gems: 20 Gems for rares, 40 Gems for mythic rares.

Limited Packs (Drafts and Sealed)

  • Duplicate protection is not applied when you open a 14-card pack in a Limited Event—you will still see and be able to pick any rare or mythic rare card, even if you already have four copies of it in your collection.
  • Once you have finished with your Draft picks or opened your Sealed packs, the system will convert any extra copies you may have received. Rares/mythic rares will become Gems, and commons/uncommons will go toward the Vault.
  • Duplicate cards will still be a part of your Limited card pool for deckbuilding and participating in the event.

Individual Card Rewards (ICRs)

  • If you receive a rare/mythic rare ICR you already have four copies of, the card will be replaced with Gems: 20 Gems for rares, 40 Gems for mythic rares.
  • If you receive an uncommon ICR that's upgraded to a rare or mythic rare, and you already have four copies of the upgraded ICR, the card will be replaced with Gems: 20 Gems for rares, 40 Gems for mythic rares.
  • If you receive an uncommon ICR and you already have four copies of it, the card will go toward the Vault.

Ranked Constructed Best-of-Three

Many of you have asked for this. It will begin on January 31. Other changes include adjustments to the matchmaking algorithms (specifically for Ranked Draft), as well as updates to the progression system for advancing Ranks.  No details on these changes have been released yet. 


So there you have it!  Ravnica Allegiance is launched! Will you be playing Azorius, Simic, Gruul, Rakdos, Orzhov or sticking with what you play now?


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Magic The Gathering Arena Game Page.

Last Updated: Jan 17, 2019

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Dissecting and distilling the game industry since 1994. Lover of family time, youth hockey, eSports, and the game industry in general.

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